Hanover, N.H.—The inaugural Dean's Leadership Course at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth kicks off with 165 participants from 12 different countries and many backgrounds, including CEOs, health care professionals, educators, students, business owners, artists, and Native American tribal leaders.

"I'm very excited at the strong response we've received for the Leadership Course," said Dr. Wiley "Chip" Souba, Dean of the Geisel School of Medicine. "I have been a student in this program and have taught the course as well. Of the more than 30 leadership symposia and retreats I have attended, this course is by far and away the most powerful and insightful in revealing—in your own life experience—what it means to be a leader and to exercise leadership effectively."

The Leadership Course, titled "Being a Leader and the Effective Exercise of Leadership: An Ontological/Phenomenological Model," promises that participants will leave this course being a leader and applying leadership effectively as their natural self-expression. Renowned leadership experts Dr. Chip Souba; Werner Erhard, researcher, lecturer and author; Michael C. Jensen, the Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus, Harvard Business School; Steve Zaffron, CEO of Vanto Group; and Kari Granger; senior faculty member at the Sunergos Institute, are teaching the course over eight days at the Dartmouth campus.

The course participants come from diverse professions and backgrounds and have come to Dartmouth from many countries, including:

Colombia

Mexico

Canada

Great Britain

Spain

Italy

Denmark

Kuwait

United Arab Emirates

Iran

India

and the United States, including a leaders from the Navajo and Ute Mountain tribes